Synesthesia

Ever since i can remember, i have seen colors in my head everytime i hear music. I have always felt like i was the only one and i have always been afraid to tell anyone because i thought that i'd be called crazy. Around the age of 14, i took the risk of telling someone, she did not react negatively, but she was quite surprised. She had no idea that seeing colors when you hear music was even possible, she had never heard of that before, so i figured what i initially thought was right, that i was the only one for who this happened to. Then, about a week ago, i mentionned it again to one of my friends and said that it is a neurological phenomenon called synesthesia and that a lot of people have it and that it's nothing to worry about. Of course, i didn't worry about it, i knew it was a positive thing, i have always known, but it made me feel insecure because i was afraid of being laughed at or called crazy if anyone knew. I was relieved to know that there is a term for it and that others have had it too, including some famous people. I figured i could make a thread talking about my synesthetic experiences and where other synesthetes can talk about their synesthetic experiences also. Maybe we can choose a list of songs and see if they make us see the same things in our heads? just an idea.

Hi,

Great topic!

I am an artist and very visual. I am not sure if I have true synesthasia but I watched this program on PBS about it and when people were describing their experiences, I felt some kind of connection.

For me smells triger colors and landscapes, music has sometimes a tactile quality to me, I see the music in bit of lines and swirls. Solid block of colors make me think of notes, in the past I just always wrote it off as being sensitive to creative arts.

But here is one that makes me think harder about it:
When I think about numbers, I see them lined up, but then in a wave. When I add numbers I have to envision them in different shades of greys (never colors) and add them visually. Math sometimes is slow for me because that's the only way I can see numbers. I consider myself bad at math, but I have great pattern recognition. For instance when I play dominoes, this hidden "trap door" opens up and I start seeing it in an abstract, weird unexplainable way, it's just a feeling, but a hidden patterns becomes visible. I do not understand it on a conscious level though. I try not talk about this with people around me because I know that it might sound kinda cooky.

I was tested for learning disabilities (bad at math in school) but they said I am not learning disabled. Anyways, I would love to hear about other people's experiences....